Lights Out
by ebonyphoenixfeather
Summary: Rose Weasley the Gryffindor who applies her cleverness not to her studies but to pulling off the most brilliant pranks in school, Scorpius Malfoy the Slytherin prefect who takes his position very seriously but would still rather hide in the shadows than get in her way, and their sixth year where a mysterious something begins to lurk in the corridors after lights out
1. Chapter 1: The Hogwarts Express

**Chapter 1: The Hogwarts Express**

* * *

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy cast one last look at his parents' faces before disappearing inside the Hogwarts Express. His father was giving him his characteristic smirk of pride while his mother gave him a quick wave. After seeing him off they would probably cast their eyes to the ground and hastily slide through the crowd before apparating back to their manor. The Malfoys had been very subdued since the end of the war, and avoided being out in public as much as possible.

Inside the train, students raced up and down the hallway eager to find which cabin their friends occupied. Scorpius watched as a group of Hufflepuff girls threw open a door and shrieked out excited greetings to its inhabitants. He stepped carefully around them, trying not to draw attention to himself. Passing down into the next car, he made out some familiar faces inside the first cabin he peered into. Opening the door gently, he let himself in and slid down onto a seat in front of two other Slytherins.

"Malfoy," one of them greeted, his voice strong.

"Goyle," he responded, "and Cobsweb." The girl nodded back at him upon hearing her name. There was a short silence.

"How was your summer?" Amus Goyle asked.

"Good," Scorpius responded, "and yours?"

"Good."

Ophelia Cobsweb settled down in her seat, putting her legs up on the empty one beside Scorpius. "Mine was also good," she said with a smile before resting her head back and closing her eyes. Scorpius and Amus both smirked at each other and assumed a similar posture. The three of them had always been together since being sorted their first year, and at this point they never needed to say much to reach and understanding. They had been sending owls back and forth all break and had no news to convey. Comfortable silence was how most of their gatherings went and this trip to Hogwarts was no different.

A few moments later the train shuddered as it started to take off. Families from outside started to shout their final goodbyes to their children, who leaned out of windows, waving excitedly. None of the three bothered to open their eyes to take a final glance outside- all of their parents were hurriedly making their way home before the rest of the crowd began to disperse.

The ride was rather uneventful until roughly halfway into the journey when an thunderous boom shook the car that Scorpius and his friends were sitting in. Students making a mess was common and Scorpius wanted nothing more than to ignore it, so after being shaken awake, he attempted to go back to sleep. He felt a kick on his shin and opened his eyes, just to the height of narrow slits.

"It seems like you already have a job," Ophelia said, leaning forward and tapping the silver and green badge at his breast. Scorpius had somehow been appointed prefect last year, an honor his father had shared with him when he was a student. Though he loathed the extra work, he also had a strange passion for order and took his job quite seriously. Sighing in response to Ophelia's sniggering, he stood up from his half sleep and stumbled out into the hallway.

A thick sheet of white smoke wafted all throughout the train car, and multicolored sparks were flying out of one of the doorways farther down. There was the distinct smell of burnt cinnamon all around him. Gagging on the stench, he quickly made his way towards the commotion. There were a few other curious students gathering outside of the compartment, all of whom he pushed past. The sound of laughter became audible as he came upon the scene. Shielding his front from the sparks with his robes, he pushed his way into the cabin, knocking into something abruptly.

"Ouch!" it cried, falling towards the windows. Scorpius realized he had accidentally bumped into someone.

"What is going on in here?" he managed to get out, stifling a cough. Pulling out his wand, he sputtered out a spell to clear the air. The smoke spun around, bunching up into a ball before dissolving out the window. Now that it was gone he could clearly make out the people inside the cabin. They were, by far, the last group of people he wanted to deal with on his first day back to school.

"Scorpius! We just got a new product from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and thought we might try to test it out before we got to Hogwarts," Albus Severus Potter responded, not missing a beat. He grinned up at him from his seat as something on the floor of the cabin continued to blast out a rainbow of sparks. He was the only other Slytherin in the room, the other three all from Gryffindor. Albus and Scorpius had been partnered together in many classes throughout the years and worked well together. Despite the circumstances, he managed to give him a small nod and smile of greeting in return. It was unfortunate, Scorpius thought, that Albus chose to spend most of his time outside of class with this lot. He had always thought the two of them could be close friends. Looking around at the rest of the faces in the room, Scorpius' smile faded. He was particularly worried about the face directly opposite to him- the one belonging to who he had bumped into upon his entrance.

"What's going on in here is none of your business," the girl cattily threw at him, squaring her shoulders. Rose Weasley had a reputation for not being pushed around on top of being the most mischief making student in the entire school. While she was said to have her mother's cleverness, she did not care about applying it to her studies as much as she did her various elaborate schemes. Each year her tricks became more extreme and each year Scorpius wondered how she got away with it. After all, the entire school was privy to her work, basically worshipping her for it. In fourth year she managed to plant a small forest of mandrakes at the bottom of the Great Lake at the beginning of the year. Near spring exams, she unearthed them, causing all of Slytherin house to be subjected to ungodly screaming in their common room. It was a miracle that the windows weren't shattered in the process.

Looking into her blue, furious eyes, Scorpius wanted nothing more than to turn around, go right back to his cabin, and stay there for the rest of the trip. But he had a title and he had a respect for order, so he straightened his back and folded his arms in front of his chest. He might as well act the part.

"Actually," he tapped his badge, directly over the P, "it is absolutely my business. Are you trying to blow up the train so you don't have to go to school, Weasley?" He spat the last word.

" _Actually,_ " she snapped back, "that is just daft." She was practically scoffing at him. How could the Malfoy boy be suggesting something so preposterous? If she hadn't wanted to go to school, she would have come up with a much better plan than that. She was Rose Weasley, after all.

"All right, then what _are_ you doing?" Scorpius asked. His voice was calm even though he was completely exasperated. He was in no mood to fight a battle he knew he couldn't win. Though he was quick witted with words, he was no match for her when it came down to it. While he needed to maintain the order, she had no rules at all. The best he could do was give her detention, but he did not want to cross Weasley so early in the year. Last year he had given her detention for finding her out of bed tinkering with something in one of the fifth floor corridors before winter break. When he went to breakfast the next morning, he was greeted with an anonymous howler in a voice mimicking his mother's about laundering his underthings. Although he could tell the difference, no one else could. He could feel a flush growing on his face just from the memory. All he ever hoped for each year was that it would pass peacefully, and this year was no different.

"Like I said," Albus intervened, "we're testing one of our uncle's new inventions. He likes to let us see how it works before he puts it on the market." Rose huffed and dropped back into her seat. Albus was always the more level headed of her cousins and she was in no mood to fight a battle with someone who didn't know they wouldn't win. It was just her luck that the Slytherin prefect had been in the same train car as her. If it had been Sarah Fortune or Finnick Fletcher they would have probably just laughed and told her to carry on. Finnick might even have cast her a quick wink before sauntering off, even though he was the Head Boy this year. If there was one person she liked to impress, it was Finnick Fletcher.

"...looks like a pack of Bertie Botts, but as soon as you open it, it turns into a pack of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Every Color Wildsparks. It's not supposed to make so much smoke," Albus was explaining animatedly as she snapped back into the conversation. Malfoy was starting to look exasperated, an expression Rose had always thought suited him. She had loathed him since her second year, when he had outed her for trying to implant another new prank device into Professor Vector's bookshelf in the middle of class. Though nearing retirement, their teacher had no qualms about assigning a thick stack of extra arithmancy homework for the next few weeks as punishment. It had taken Rose ages to convince her friends to help her complete it.

"All right, all right," Scorpius said, stopping Albus before he could continue to explain his theory on why the smoke was so thick. Sometimes he thought Albus belonged in Ravenclaw. The small pack spat out two last pink sparks with a dying hiss before disappearing altogether. "I will need to confiscate whatever other of these packages you might have."

He waited as they stared at him. The other two Gryffindor's whose names he could not place hadn't spoken the entire time. They were particularly bad at holding back their grins and kept exchanging conspiratorial looks. The Weasley girl glared at him from her seat. He sighed.

"Of course, if you don't have any others, I will just be on my way then," he muttered. Live to fight another day, he thought, while turning back into the hallway. He noticed that the spectators had begun to disperse as well.

"See you at dinner, Scorpius!" Albus called after him.

"Right," he replied, before stalking back towards his cabin, defeated.

-xXx-

"He has such a stick up his-"

"Oh please Rose, he's really not so bad," Albus interrupted.

"Oh _please_ Albus, he is! I know you are friends with him but I still, for the love of Merlin, don't know why."

"You just have to give him a chance," he prodded carefully. "I wanted to hate him at first too because of… well you know." Everyone knew the story of their parents. While the Weasley and Potter names were hailed as heroes, the Malfoy name was only met with discomfort. However, Albus' father had told him before his first year not to let the past color his opinions. It was only after getting to know his housemates that he'd realized why. Most of them grew up in guarded seclusion, their parents too ashamed of their various attachments to Voldemort's army to go out very much. At first he thought Scorpius took to avoiding people because of some superiority complex, but he later realized that it was because it was all he had ever known. Scorpius was a smart and warm wizard beneath his outer shell, but he kept his feelings closely guarded.

Albus was lucky to have his mother's level head and his father's open heart. Though he had besought the Sorting Hat to be in Gryffindor as his father had mentioned, he had still been sorted into Slytherin. For his first two years he wondered if he had belonged there. However, he soon realized he liked Slytherin house more than he had ever imagined, and was proud to be a part of it. Nevertheless, he had grown up with his cousins and still chose to spend most of his free time with them while at school.

"Right, well, I still hate him," Rose said between a piece of cauldron cake they had purchased from one of the carts earlier. Trying to convince her of anything was like trying to convince a Hungarian Horntail to be your family pet.

"Can't you chew with your mouth closed for once," Franklin Longbottom protested. The girl next to him didn't raise her head from his shoulder but nodded in agreement.

Lily Luna Potter would normally be here with them, but she was off who knows where chasing some fourth year Ravenclaw that she had fallen in love with last year. She had nearly clung by Albus's side for the past few years until she had begun to develop hormones. Hugo Weasley was no doubt following her about so he could laugh at her probable failures later. There was also an empty seat where James Sirius might have sat at some point in the trip if he had not already graduated the year before. He was known to float about the train from cabin to cabin every year, having a sizeable variety of friends.

"Oh shut up, Frankie," Rose muttered, "and honestly Olivia, do you think I can't see you furrowing your brows at me all the time." They both laughed in response causing Rose to smile against her will. Her friends were used to her ridiculous behavior by now. Everyone had thought Rose would be a model student like her mother, but she turned out to be a lot more like her father's side of the family than she had let on as a little girl. In fact, she was even more like Uncle George than the rest of her cousins, a fact that made her unreasonably proud. The first time she had returned from Hogwarts, her father was beside himself in confusion at learning her marks were below the Malfoy boy's. She had merely shrugged and smiled sweetly in response. She could do better, but she had a more important goal to focus on instead: having fun. It was her brother Hugo who was surpassing his classmates in his studies, and she would let him be the star pupil of the family. She was a star for a different reason entirely, her pranks ranging from harmless to annoying to downright stupid, but all admirable nonetheless. Her mother had reprimanded her time and time again but had finally given up after her fourth year. Upon hearing of Rose's underwater mandrake garden, Hermione couldn't even hide the look of amusement on her face. After all, someone had to uphold the Weasley name after Roxanne left Hogwarts, and who was Hermione to get in the way of tradition.

"I haven't seen you all summer, and yet all you can do is complain about Scorpius," Olivia replied, her voice soft and warm. There was a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Rose and Olivia Hawthorne were best friends since third year. They had both had serious crushes on the one year older Finnick Fletcher and had only met when they stumbled over each other trying to catch a glimpse of his new girlfriend after charms class. Heartbroken, they comforted one another and quickly realized they were meant for friendship. Olivia was a responsible and hardworking Gryffindor who had since turned her attention to Longbottom. Rose, unfortunately, had never quite moved past her Fletcher phase.

"I'm sorry Olly, should I ask you for the hundredth time about your mother's new vegetable garden?"

"Well you know, there are a few plants in there that might be of interest to your… hobbies," she replied playfully. Franklin laughed at that. There was not much that Olivia said that he wouldn't laugh at. They had been an item for two years now and Olivia's marks in herbology had questionably gone up ever since.

"How _is_ your mother's vegetable garden, then?" Rose countered.

"Oh it's just fine," she said with a wink.

"What about your new broomstick, Albus? What model is it again?"

"The newest," he responded evenly, trying not to sound too pleased with himself.

"Spoiled brat. Go easy on Gryffindor on the quidditch pitch, will you?"

"I don't know, I'll have to think about it."

They shared another laugh. Their banter continued without interruption for the rest of the journey, the commotion they caused before already forgotten.

On the other side of the train Ophelia and Amus engaged each other in a match of chess before they got so bored that they made sport of flicking the pieces back and forth around Scorpius' sleeping head with their wands. To their disappointment, he fidgeted in his seat but remained unaware.

Scorpius Malfoy was far too gone, trapped between pleasant dreams of a perfect year, spent mostly down in the comfort of the dungeons, and unruly nightmares that involved the angry glower of a girl with long red hair, somewhere outside under a bright sun…


	2. Chapter 2: The First Night

**Chapter 2: The Arrival, The Feast, The First Night**

* * *

Scorpius jolted awake as he lurched forward in his seat, falling halfway out of it. The train had slid to a stop. Outside, he could make out the soft glow of lamp light floating above a stone platform. They had arrived.

Recovering his balance on the seat, he blinked away his grogginess. He then cleared his throat and straightened his back, feigning cool control. As a child, Scorpius had tried to mimic his grandfather's precise and rigid movements. Even now, though he was afraid to be compared to his father's side of the family, many of those habits remained.

"Did you take a sleeping draught?" Amus asked, already standing and rifling with his luggage. He held out an open palm to his friend. Though Amus did not have the quickest of wits, he had a knack for making Scorpius feel at ease.

"No, did I miss something?" Scorpius grabbed the taller boy's arm and stood, steadying himself.

"No, not really." Ophelia interjected in an even voice, but there was a suspicious smile at one corner of her lips. If Amus made Scorpius feel at ease, Ophelia made him feel the opposite. Though she wasn't nearly as mischievous as Weasley, she was very good at playing games with people. Even after being friends with her for so long, Scorpius still couldn't always tell when she was messing with him.

"Why do you make me feel like you're lying?"

"Well… you may have missed me giving you a little cut above your temple with my chess queen's crown. My apologies." Ophelia was not apologetic at all, her grin spreading all the way across her face. Gracefully sliding past him, but still somehow managing to shove him, she stepped outside of their compartment with a wink. Promptly, she continued off towards the train door.

"What?" He cried after her, holding his hand up to his head. Wanting a further explanation, he could only watch her dark brown head disappear into the crowd of students. A small line of blood dotted his fingers as he pulled them away. He groaned. Amus only laughed and gave him a friendly pat on the back before heading out after Ophelia.

"See you in the Great Hall!" he yelled out behind him.

"Right," Scorpius replied glumly, though his friend had already turned away. Every house's prefects had duties to perform upon disembarking the Hogwarts Express. These duties mainly involved herding first years and calling out role. It was common that prefects end up taking the very last carriages up to the castle each year.

Remembering the other Slytherin prefect from his year, Scorpius vaguely wondered how her summer had been. The two hadn't seen each other since the end of term their fifth year. The two were by no means close but he did have to work with her. He was snapped out of this thought by a flash of red as Rose Weasley darted off the train with her friends. Instantly, he recalled the incident on the train earlier. He was also simultaneously reminded of the red blood on his fingers. Running his clean hand along his robes to straighten them out, he took a deep breath. Scorpius oftentimes had a flurry of emotion going on internally, but he always tried his very best to maintain a facade of calm control.

"Here's to a great start to the year," he muttered to himself. He took one more deep breath, to steel his resolve, before marching outside. Between Rose Weasley and his own friends, this year was already looking like it just might drive him insane. At least ushering the first years to their boats would be peaceful enough.

-xXx-

Rose's distinct laugh reverberated melodically, and a little bit too loudly, above the heads of the Hogwarts students that were waiting to board their carriages. She had to lean on Olivia to keep herself upright, one hand looped through her friend's arm, and the other clutching her stomach. In the distance, the dull sound of rapid pops could be heard. Some of the far off darkness glowed in multicolored blotches. Many students had stopped their trek to peer back towards commotion, which seemed like it was somewhere near the docks. A few students close enough to hear Rose's unmistakable laugh were grinning, already knowing that the Weasley had been up to no good.

"What did you do?" Franklin asked, shaking his head at Rose even though he was smiling. He usually humored her antics even though he wished she'd have a little more modesty.

"I gave as many first years as I could find a box of Every Color Wildsparks," she got out between her laughs, with a little bit of difficulty.

"I thought your uncle just wanted you to test those..."

"They're being tested right now! I'd like to see the look on Malfoy's face."

"Rosie, you'd think with all the things you pull, you wouldn't get so excited every time," Albus joined in, pretending to be serious. "And you do realize that Fletcher is down there too? He's probably going through more trouble than Scorpius," he added dramatically, pleased with his assessment. Rose immediately stopped laughing.

"Oh no! Why didn't I consider that?" she gasped, thrusting her fingers through the roots of her hair. What if a box had exploded in his face? What if a spark caught his beautiful hair on fire? What if he didn't make it to dinner and she couldn't talk to him? It had been an entire summer! She was so worried about these scenarios that she didn't catch that Albus had called her Rosie. "He won't be late to dinner because of me, right?"

"You probably made the first years want to go running back home, and you're worried about whether Fetching Fletcher is going to be at dinner tonight?" Olivia jabbed.

"Yes. Well no- well, yes actually," she stammered back. Rose was a good liar, but when it came to Finnick Fletcher, her lies were so obvious that she might as well have taken a dose of veritaserum that morning with her tea. If she could flush, her face would be bright pink. "When did you develop such a sharp tongue, Olly?"

"I'm friends with you, aren't I? And you know, that I know, that we both know, you're changing the subject." She slid her arm out of her friend's and into Franklin's. "Our turn!" She half led half dragged him along with her toward a carriage that had stopped in front of them. Everyone had trouble keeping up with Olivia's long bouncing steps.

Albus gave Rose a knowing look before linking arms with her and setting off after the other two. As Rose boarded the carriage behind him she felt a strange knot in her stomach that was some strange mixture between triumph and regret. _Sorry, Finnick_ , she thought. _And not sorry, Malfoy_ , she thought right after. As soon as she closed the door behind her, the thestrals bounded off into the darkness, carrying her and her friends towards the castle for their sixth year. Down below on the Black Lake, mini explosions still lit up the top of the water, creating a dizzy light show.

-xXx-

Scorpius stalked into the Great Hall, the edges of his face partially black with ash. The front of his blonde hair was standing up in a tangled mess, closely resembling a bird's nest. Paired with the still mildly bloody cut to his temple, he looked like the human form of an angry cockatrice. Even so, his expression was one of complete calm, which was so unnatural that it caused him to seem the opposite.

Students quickly jumped away as he made his way toward his fellow Slytherins, convinced the prefect would kill any one of them that crossed him. In reality, he was feeling immensely embarrassed rather than murderous, and wanted to get to his seat as fast as possible. Nonetheless, he carried himself at a steady pace, feigning placidity as always.

An obnoxious laugh carried over to him as he passed the Gryffindor table. He knew who it belonged to before he had bothered to look. Lifting his eyes from being purposefully concentrated on the floor, he spotted the Weasley girl. She was grinning from ear to ear, seated in between a large group of friends. He wondered why it seemed like her lot always travelled in huge packs like some of the beasts they studied in Care of Magical Creatures. As they locked eyes, she lifted the front of her hair up above her forehead, stuck out her tongue, and then laughed. She was clearly very pleased with herself, and he felt his jaw twitch reflexively in response. Quickly looking away, he decided he was going to throw Rose Weasley in detention the first chance he got.

He could not get to his seat soon enough. When he reached the usual congregation spot, near the front of his house's table, he found his friends already stuffing their faces. Or rather, Amus and Albus were stuffing their faces. Ophelia attempted some air of ladylike manners as she neatly dug into her lamb chops. Upon seeing Scorpius, they all stopped eating in unison and just stared, needing some time to process his state.

"Don't-" he began, but was sharply cut off by their uncontrollable laughter. Why had he even tried to bother?

"Ha ha, yes it's very funny," he agreed with them sarcastically. The magically refilling feast had already begun, as the very front of the table was already filled with first years. He took his seat, knowing the sorting had already taken place. He had missed it while out trying to tame a few particularly unruly boxes of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Every Color Wildsparks. Every student knew what had happened down at the docks by now.

He was a bit disappointed to miss the start of term speech. Scorpius looked up to most of the Hogwarts staff, but there was no one he looked up to more than Headmistress McGonagall. However, his disappointment was nothing compared to his aggravation over Weasley's newest prank. His friends had finally stopped laughing and were waiting for an explanation.

"You should tell your uncle that his new product is quite effective if he's intending to start self preserving rainbow fires," he directed at Albus dryly. "But I don't recommend having them blow up in your face, it's rather unpleasant."

"That sounds exactly like something he _would_ want to do." Noticing his friend's continued exasperation, he laughed and added, "I'm sorry about my cousin. She doesn't really mean any harm but she's… you know… she just gets off on that kind of thing."

"That kind of thing?" Scorpius repeated. "Yes, getting off on torturing first years before they've even seen the castle, I can see how she must enjoy that."

"Actually, she's getting off on torturing you more than anything. As clever as she is, she doesn't always consider the whole picture."

"At least I'm not as bad off as Fletcher. He ended up having to fish out some poor girl who fell into the lake out of shock and ended up falling in himself. He'll smell like lake muck for a week." Albus laughed even harder at that, though Scorpius didn't know why. At this point he didn't really care either. Resting his head in his hands, he could only feel something between complete exhaustion and total irritation. He realized that he had a headache. Before he could become cross with the revelation, the strong smell of meat overwhelmed his senses and caused his mouth to salivate. Looking up from his hands he was met with the sight of a chicken leg that was being held in front of his face.

"Thanks, Amus," he said as he grabbed it. "And Ophelia, can you help me with my hair?"

She simply smiled in reply, pulling out a comb from her robes, and then attempting to flatten the mess on his head. He clenched his jaw as she worked out some particularly nasty knots. Afterward, they resumed eating until their stomachs were full and exchanged plans for the following day. As they dispersed, Scorpius went to join the other Slytherin prefects in leading their new housemates to the common room. He was so glad he was not on corridor duty after lights out that night. As soon as he got to his dormitory and washed the remaining pieces of ash from his hair and face, he decided, he would go to sleep at once.

-xXx-

It was nearing two in the morning, and Rose knew she was the only one out of bed. Though some dying embers still glowed in the fireplace, the Gryffindor common room was completely empty. She didn't always go out after lights out, but it was certainly one of her favorite past times. Double checking that there was no one around, she made her way towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. While she didn't _always_ go out after lights out, there was no way she would pass it up on her first night back at Hogwarts.

After unpacking and washing up, Rose had been in a foul mood, remembering how Professor McGonagall had given her an underhanded jab during her start-of-term speech. ' _A hope for no more mysterious muddly mischiefs', my broomstick,_ she thought to herself. The headmistress had looked right at her as she made some other vague references to firecrackers and exploding lemonade (which she had managed to give to three professors her second year, thank you very much).

Rose was in even more of a foul mood after discovering what evils she had done to Finnick Fletcher. There was no chance for an apology, as he hadn't appeared in the common room after she had waited as long as possible. She decided he was either already out for night patrol or still washing off lake water. She also decided she would find him if it were the former and set everything straight that night. If it were the latter- well- something about sneaking through the hallways at night and avoiding the other bothersome prefects always gave her a rush. So, for once not for the sake of complete misconduct, she stepped through the portrait hole into the dark corridor and whispered _lumos_.

The plan, that night, was to run into one of the two Gryffindor prefects who would be on patrol. If they were sixth or fifth years, she might directly ask them whether Finnick was on duty this shift or not. They tended to support the Weasley family's disorderly success. On the other hand, the seventh year girl, Ruth Vale, was not as accepting. Ruth had never caught Rose before, but she was still likely to lose house points if it ever happened.

Stopping as she reached the Fat Lady's corridor for a second time, Rose wondered why she hadn't seen anyone yet. It was strange, as at least one of the Gryffindor prefects tended to stay around the area. The common room entrance was one of the easiest places to catch students sneaking in and out. Every student knew they had to be particularly elusive around this area. Even so, the entire seventh floor had seemed to be empty.

Confused, she made her way back into the corridor towards the closest restrooms. Even prefects on duty had to take a bathroom break once in a while, she reasoned. Once arriving, she listened for any sound from inside. There was only silence, marred by the distant gusts of wind outside the castle. Willing the glow of her wand to be brighter, she stepped inside the girl's restroom. Squinting, she stepped past each of the stalls. Each one was empty, except for one which she knew to be dysfunctional, that was indefinitely locked.

Doubling back, she was deciding she needed to check the boy's side when she stopped cold. A tiny breath alighted near the back of her right ear, raising the hairs on her neck. Automatically placing her hand near the spot, she shivered and turned quickly around. Not knowing what she was expecting, she realized she was only facing an open window. A light breeze was drifted through it from outside, tickling her robes. _Come on, Rose,_ she cursed herself. She determined she was just out of practice. After all, Rose Weasley was not supposed to be afraid of anything.

Running her hand through her hair, she made her way to the boy's side of the bathroom.

She was shameless by now, having been in various boy's bathrooms over her Hogwarts career. Puzzled upon finding that side empty too, she made her way back outside. She wondered if she should just give up and go to bed. But then- _tap, tap, tap_ \- there was a clear sound behind her like rocks on glass.

She turned back into the lavatory and scanned it carefully, taking two steps back inside. Her wand, held up above her head, clearly lit every corner of the bathroom. The tapping sound had gone, and there was still no one. Shrugging, she stepped back outside and started making her way down the corridor towards the staircase, dimming her wand once more. Strange noises did not stop Rose Weasley. She would try the sixth floor and then give up.

Halfway to her destination, she was sure she heard the sound of footsteps following behind her. Finally, she had found someone on duty! Hopefully it would be Finnick. She spun around with a grin, excited to see who she had discovered. Instead, her grin fell from her face as she squinted into the empty darkness. The footsteps sound had also vanished. She frowned.

Rose Weasley was not supposed to be afraid of anything. She had roamed these hallways at night for some time now and was no stranger to them. Often, she had heard similar noises only to find another student slinking about in the shadows. Even though she may be the best, she was not the only troublemaker in school. Convincing herself of that exact scenario, she continued off towards the stairwell. As soon as she did, the foreign footsteps followed her, sounding even closer than before. Concerned about why someone would want to follow her, she picked up her pace. Unfortunately, her follower seemed to pick up their pace as well.

Rose Weasley was not supposed to be afraid of anything. Stopping abruptly, she turned to face her stalker. Again, she was fully staring at nothing.

"I'm not doing anything fun tonight, so there's nothing to see," she whispered to the shadows. "I have a lot of tricks in the works for later though! Come join me then." She blew a kiss to the darkness, before hurriedly rounding the corner into the stairwell and-

She crashed directly into someone, becoming entangled in their limbs, and ending up on the ground.

Another female voice groaned in pain. Rose cursed herself for not noticing the light from the lamp that her victim was holding. She cursed herself again when she recognized the other's face.

"Hello, Rose." Ruth's voice was ice. "We both know that it's after lights out. I will have to take twenty-five points from Gryffindor."

"I'm sorry," Rose lied. She didn't even wait half a breath before asking, "Is Finnick on duty right now?"

Ruth glared at her. "No."

They said nothing else to one another as Ruth escorted her back to the common room. There was no sign of the person who had seemed to be following her. Rose decided she would think of them as her ardent fan. This conclusion brought a satisfied smile to her face.

As Rose returned to her room, climbed up into her bed, and settled down to sleep, her thoughts were shockingly not on Fetching Fletcher. Instead, she wondered who or what it was that had made her so distracted that she had been caught by a prefect after hours for the first time in two years.


	3. Chapter 3: The First Happening

**Chapter 3: The First Happening**

* * *

The first week of classes went by uneventfully - at least they did for Scorpius Malfoy. And for it, he was very grateful.

He had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Arithmancy on Mondays and Wednesdays, Charms and Herbology on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Potions on Thursday, and Transfiguration on Friday. Each of his professors had given an introduction for the year and minimal homework. Even having two night patrol shifts, he had run into no one and nothing. The corridors had been silent and empty. And for his concern, that was just as they should be in the darkest hours of the night.

Everything was going so well that he almost forgot how Weasley had blown up his face. Though it still bothered him, the idea of a continued feud bothered him even more. He was sure that during double Potions with the Gryffindors, Weasley would uncomfortably remind him of their conflicts.

Descending into the dungeons, he had felt like he was marching into a wizards' duel. He had even prepared himself to parry her exasperating quips before entering the classroom. Instead, he was completely taken aback when Weasley barely spared him a glance all period. She seemed preoccupied with her thoughts, staring sullenly into space. He had wondered what was the matter only briefly before going back to note taking. While he found it uncharacteristic of her, he had no complaints. It was not his concern. The urge to get her into detention became buried, only a tickling feeling in the back of his head.

The start of the year couldn't have been any more perfect. Scorpius would do his schoolwork, keep up his prefect duties, and maintain upstanding marks. He would stay as he always had, away from attention and one step closer to passing his NEWTs the following year. Most importantly, he would avoid trouble at all costs. If there was anything Scorpius was particularly good at, besides charms, it was avoiding trouble. That was, until Saturday morning, when he decided to venture outside the castle.

The air was crisp but the sky was overcast as he crossed the lawn towards the Black Lake. It was one of his habits to relax outside before the winter and he had not done so yet. He had a favorite alcove along the bank of the lake that was both scenic and private. It was a small place surrounded by trees with low hanging branches. Best of all, no one else ever seemed to frequent the area, even on warmer days.

Halfway there, while he was lost in thoughts of the solitude ahead, he stopped cold. He had noticed another student facing away from him who was kneeling by the water. But more than that, to his complete and utter frustration, the student had bright red hair. Why, he thought, must all good things come to an end?

Though it could have been anyone, Scorpius would bet his wand that it was Weasley. Besides the fact that being out this early was uncommon for normal students, there was something about the slope of her shoulders that gave it away. And honestly, how could he have ever believed he could make it a full week without some sort of madness?

He knew almost immediately that avoiding her should be his biggest priority. Although he was a prefect, and although he was certain she was up to no good, getting in her way would still be hell for him. After all, there weren't billywigs or doxies flying out of the lake, so there was nothing he could punish just yet. He should skirt back behind her ten paces, get to his destination, and have a wonderful morning alone. His mind latched onto this decision, but his body hesitated.

Later, he would wonder what dark magic could have possibly possessed him to hesitate like that. Because, in his hesitation, he lost his one chance of escape.

"Who's there?" Rose's strong voice struck him still even though he was already motionless. She craned her neck around without standing up, a wary look in her eye. Once she registered who he was, she scowled. He wondered again why peace for a single week was so unattainable. He knew he was done for now, so he might as well go down fighting.

"What are you scheming now, Weasley? I hope you're not turning the Black Lake into the Lilac Lake." He was surprised by how steady his voice sounded. Hopefully the expression on his face was steady too.

"Of all times, you have to bother me now? I didn't even know you slithered out of your dungeons on the weekends," she snapped at him, rising to a standing position. He noticed that there were dark circles beneath her angry eyes and her clothes were rumpled.

Rose was in no mood for this at all. The first week of classes had gone by terribly eventfully. After being caught out by Ruth, she had spent the next week under her watchful eye at night. It had made sneaking out nearly impossible. Her classes themselves were all horribly boring, containing introductions and a common room full of homework. And on top of that, apologizing to Finnick had gone terribly wrong. She didn't even want to think of the mishap on the stairs where she ended up clumsily tripping him. Honestly, she was beyond sloppy this year.

Everything had been going wrong for Rose - but that was not even the beginning of her worries. Worse than this was her fan boy or girl who had continued to torture her after their first encounter. She had managed to sneak out on Thursday but been mysteriously followed again. More footsteps had followed her along with eerie whispers. She had almost immediately returned to her dormitory to leave them behind.

Rose Weasley was not supposed to be afraid of anything. But honestly, she was getting a little disturbed. For some reason, she did not think her follower was another student. In fact, it felt like something completely unnatural. She had even had one nightmare where she was trapped in the Forbidden Forest with her follower stalking her in the shadows.

She was not taking it completely seriously until Friday morning when she received an owl with a crumpled red note. The sender had penned it in darker red ink and messy letters. It had vaguely told her that whoever it was from was up to something involving the lake this weekend. It warned her to stop performing mischief, as if that would happen. And it had also told her to stay out of the way "now and forever in the future or suffer extreme consequences."

It had kept her up all night. Why on McGonagall's whiskers would someone send her such a note? Was someone playing a prank on her? Was someone trying to out-prank her? Was someone just trying to scare her? She simply could not figure it out. And what did they mean, by "extreme consequences"? There was only one way to find out: she had decided to investigate at once. Rose was not one to back down.

But now, disrupting her investigation, was her favorite prefect of all. Why, she thought, couldn't Malfoy ever realize that he was done for?

"Very original," he retorted, "but you are avoiding my question. What are you scheming now?"

"I am scheming how to turn you into a weasel every time I so much as think of your ugly face."

Scorpius had to try very hard not to sigh. He was, as he knew would happen, getting nowhere. And, really, "ugly" was taking it too far. He certainly thought that he was, at the very least, average.

"You look like a mess." The words left his lips before he had even truly thought of a rebuttal. He regretted them almost immediately.

"I _am_ a mess…" Rose muttered, pushing her fingers through her hair and holding them at the side of her head. He noticed a tremble in her voice and he just stared. Whatever Scorpius had been expecting from her, bodily injury or otherwise, it had not been that.

"What -"

"Everything has been going wrong. I am having a terrible week. I wouldn't be surprised if a troll emerged from the lake and clubbed me. And I am most certainly not in the mood for _you_. If you knew what was good for you, you would bugger off." Her words came tumbling out at him very quickly. She had exploded.

He tried again, "Um -"

"What don't you understand, Malfoy? I am not even up to something right now, so you don't have to go all rule upholder on me."

"Yes, but -"

"Don't cross me, now, or ever again. Honestly, I will make it rain lake water upon your head if you don't stay out of my way!" Rose pushed past him, knocking halfway into him before stalking back towards the castle. Scorpius staggered but quickly regained his balance, watching her leave with his mouth slightly agape.

There was something seriously wrong with that Weasley girl. He couldn't move for a few moments for shock at what had just transpired. Never had he seen her act in such a manner. Though she was mischievous to a fault, he had thought her to have a reasonably sound temperament.

Watching her receding back, he noticed her shoulders had slumped down uncharacteristically. He even puzzled over the lack of vigor in her usually swaggering steps. Scorpius realized his self preservation tendencies had become shadowed by his growing curiosity over the Weasley girl. He frowned.

~xXx~

Sometime later, Rose sat in the Great Hall, picking forlornly at a large shepherd's pie. The red note was sitting inside her pocket, crumpled. Though it weighed almost nothing, it felt like a stone boulder against her leg. She had not been able to recognize the handwriting of the sender and what little time she had at the lake that morning had not been fruitful.

"What a bloody mess," she sighed.

"I just don't get it," Olivia was saying, "So what if Finnick fell down a couple of stairs. You _were_ still trying to apologize to him. I don't think you owe him anything anymore."

"I suppose," Rose muttered tonelessly. She had decided not to share her real problem with her friends. After all, it was probably nothing. It would be better for her to figure this out on her own first before making it an issue. As much as she tried to convince herself of that, she still felt unsettled.

"He should be flattered that you took the time, really," Olivia continued, trying her best to cheer up her friend.

"Oh, will you please come off it?" Hugo was seated next to Olivia, scoffing. "I'm already disgusted enough from watching Lily chasing after Peter this past week."

"Hugo! She's your sister," exclaimed Olivia.

"It's _because_ she's my sister that it's even more disgusting." Hugo turned to Franklin, "I don't understand girls. All they ever talk about is boys."

Franklin gave him a smile in return but did not say anything. Olivia was gripping much too tightly on his arm.

"Well, you'd be talking about girls if you weren't so busy holed up in the library all of the time," said Olivia. Hugo's face flushed, matching the color of his hair.

As the two began bickering, Rose didn't hear a word that was exchanged. She had shifted her hand into her pocket and was shuffling the red note back and forth between her fingers. She would go down to the lake again after dinner to investigate some more. Glancing up towards the Slytherin table, she sighted Albus laughing about something with his friends. If she were to ask advice from anyone, it would be him. But for now, Rose Weasley was on her own.

"What are you up to next, Rosie?" Hugo asked, drawing her attention back to her friends. "Can I help?"

"I've been thinking about a few different things involving the school broomsticks," Rose said, smiling at her brother. Though she was just as clever as her brother, he knew far more information from his love for reading. She would sometimes consult him about tricky mischief, but the two conspired to never let their parents know he was involved.

"It's been too quiet around here lately…" said Olivia, winking at her friend.

"Definitely, I think it's about time-"

 _HISS!_

A huge sound filled the Great Hall, causing all the students to stop their conversations. Clouds began forming across the ceiling, billowing across the room. Many students gasped and pointed while the professors jumped up from their seats. Rose stared up, perplexed, while her friends exchanged looks.

The clouds grew thicker and thicker, turning into a dark gray. It seemed as if they were about to turn black when they started to rain down. That is, on the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw tables they rained down all sorts of magical candies. On the Slytherin table, they rained terrible murky water - from the lake.

Rose gasped, feeling her fingers curl around the note in a claw. The Slytherins started shrieking and running off from their seats while the other houses laughed, snatching up treats and cheering. The Hogwarts staff was quick to dispel the storm, waving their wands in the air. Just as the clouds cleared completely, a huge scarlet scrawl in the form of smoke filled the ceiling. It read "Number One" in great swirling letters.

The Great Hall was as loud as during the House Cup ceremony. Rose was snapped out of her stupor by the realization that her friends and other housemates were whooping and patting her on the back.

"Wow, how did you plan this one?"

"You've really outdone yourself!"

"Look at those Slytherins."

"Inspiring!"

Panicked, Rose looked between beaming faces. They thought _she_ had done it. Who else but Rose Weasley could pull off such an over-the-top, unthinkable, immensely stupid, prank. It was then she realized, with a sick feeling in her stomach, the writer of her mysterious note had not been playing around. There was someone out there who was either very brave or very stupid. And for some reason, it seemed like they were trying to outdo her.

But why?

Overwhelmed, she turned to look at the damage to the Slytherin table. Their meals were drenched in muck. Albus was rubbing something out of his eye. Then, she noticed who it was that was sitting next to him. Malfoy's green eyes, narrowed into slits, were like knives.

Just then, McGonagall's voice thundered throughout the room. "MISS WEASLEY. TO MY OFFICE."

"But professor-" She began, trying to defend herself. The rest of the room had hushed once again.

"NOT ANOTHER WORD."

Rose closed her mouth. Brilliant.


End file.
